LAReview
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Jones Hollywood
Included In
Everyone comes to LA with a glorified version of Hollywood in their head. After all, no matter where you grew up, you probably spent a portion of your childhood watching movies, TV shows, red carpets, and anything else that helps paints a tinsel-y portrait of our city’s most famous neighborhood - and the entire industry in general.
But then you get here and realize you’ve been duped. Because Hollywood is full of lost tourists and terrifying wax museums, and as for the state of the movie industry... that's a topic for a different day. But lost in the shuffle and the shattered misconceptions of our city sits Jones, a tremendous Italian restaurant on Santa Monica Blvd. that’s also the version of Hollywood we wish actually existed.
Here’s the thing about Jones - it's one of LA’s great restaurants, but it by no means serves the best food in town. You’re certainly going to have a good meal here, but this dimly-lit spot possesses something far rarer than an excellent bowl of pasta - the ability to make every person who walks through the door feel like a star. We’ve been eating regularly at Jones for well over a decade, and every time a dinner here gets put on our calendar, we get the same twinge of excitement we felt the first time we went. A meal here isn’t just one you look forward to, it’s one that changes the entire energy of your week.
photo credit: Jakob Layman
It’s easy to assume that dinner at a restaurant with a private party room, celebrity regulars, and a cocktail named after Keith Moon is a production from start to finish, but rest assured, Jones is anything but. Yes, you’d be wise to snag a reservation in advance, and there’s a high probability you’ll end up sitting next to the cast of a Freeform show you fall asleep to, but at the end of the day, that’s what makes Jones great. This is a neighborhood restaurant that puts everyone on an equal plane. And that’s exactly why we’ll find any excuse to come here.
We’ve taken important clients to Jones, split spaghetti and meatballs and a sizzling apple pie with family members, and fallen in love with people. We’ve showed up with big groups at 11pm on a weeknight for their late-night Happy Hour and $7.50 margherita pizza. Sometimes, we’ll just sit at the bar with a friend, snacking on perfectly fried calamari, sipping our favorite martini in town, and hashing out life to the best of our abilities. Jones is the ultimate catch-all restaurant - a place that impresses and comforts, and treats you like a legend and a regular at the same time.
People spend their entire careers in LA looking for the “real” Hollywood, but the truth is, it doesn’t actually exist. Not on Hollywood Blvd., not on the patio at The Ivy, and not even at Ellen DeGeneres’s house on game night. So throw out all your idealized notions, and go create your own version at Jones Hollywood. We’ll be at the bar when you get here.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Calamari Fritti
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Table Bread
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Jones Chopped Salad
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Spicy Sausage Pizza
photo credit: Jakob Layman
Spaghetti And Meatballs
photo credit: Jakob Layman